Lamont Butler believes shoulder injury is behind him: "I think we got it."

Mark Pope called Lamont Butler‘s situation ‘complicated’ as he slowly worked his way back from the shoulder injury that kept him out since late January. He initially suffered the injury in the win over Texas A&M on Jan. 14, played through it until the loss at Vanderbilt on Jan. 25, then sat out the next three games, a stretch that saw Kentucky lose four of five.

“I would like to get (Butler) back in a position where we have the next chance of not having another setback,” Pope said as the fifth-year senior returned to practice in a non-contact capacity on Feb. 6.

Butler gave it a go just two days later, playing 23 minutes in a 23-point win over South Carolina. It wasn’t his best performance, racking up eight points, three assists, one rebound and one steal with three turnovers, but his return was a breath of fresh air for a team that desperately needed one — especially on the defensive end of the floor.

“He’s our heart and soul. He’s what every team would want in a player,” Koby Brea said after the game. “We follow him, he sets the tone for us.”

Good to go against Tennessee

He appeared to get through the game without any obvious re-aggravations or setbacks, but where do things stand with the dust now settled a few days later?

“It’s feeling alright. I’m ready to go for this game tomorrow,” Butler said Monday. “It’s feeling alright, yeah. It did not (feel great after his return). It was a little bit sore, but it’s still feeling good. It’s good enough for me to play.”

Butler played the game with a heavy brace on his shoulder, which he called ‘a little uncomfortable at first’ before getting used to it, especially in recent days. He didn’t know what he was going to be able to give, but ‘was just out there giving it my all’ in those 23 minutes he could go.

That came after a few weeks where he ‘just wasn’t feeling ready to go out there and play.’

Playing through the pain

“I was just feeling good,” Butler said. “Saturday I was feeling healthy enough to give it a go. That’s all that went into it.”

Was the risk of re-injury in the back of his mind as he made his triumphant return? You recognize the possibility, but don’t let it impact your play — at least with the adrenaline is pumping.

“Not during the game,” he said of thinking about the pain. “My adrenaline was going, I just had a winning mindset at that point. … It’s just the risk of getting a really bad hit or something like that, but I’m not thinking about it. I’m just out there playing. Hopefully it doesn’t happen, but I’m just out there trying to be the best I can.”

Sitting out was more painful than the injury itself, knowing he could make an impact in the losses while also respecting and celebrating his team’s ability to go down to Knoxville and pull out a gutsy, shorthanded win a few weeks back.

“It was tough, definitely was tough,” Butler said. “I wanted to be out there with the guys, competing out there with them — especially on the road. You know how tough it gets on the road. I was excited with how they battled, how hard they played. Everybody had a next-up mentality, guys came off the bench and were ready to play, especially Trent (Noah), Travis (Perry) and Collin (Chandler). They did a really good job.

“I’m just trying to make an impact as soon as I’m able to. Last game I was able to. Now I’m just trying to stay healthy and stay on the winning side now.”

No long-term concerns

Now the hope is to put that injury behind him and focus on building on the momentum they picked up in the blowout win over South Carolina.

“It was great, really it was just good to be back on the court playing,” he said. “I was able to practice and be with the team. Trying to continue to get better and win games.”

The good news? That’s the expectation moving forward with his shoulder in a solid place long-term, no obvious risk of a setback in sight.

“I think we got it, we got it good now,” Butler said. “If I would have played in the other games, it could have been a setback, but I think now it’s healthy enough to where it will be good for the long term.”